Close Encounters of the Avian Kind
by Kkcty
Summary: A normal walk to the station becomes anything but normal. Who is this skinny man with sticky-up hair, and what does he have to do with a giant bird? Rated K plus for mild fantasy violence


The cold night air was slowly seeping under Elizabeth's skin. It was past dusk already, but the station was still twenty minutes walk away. And she was damned if she was paying for a bus. The twenty-something-year-old tucked her hands into the sleeves of her impractical blazer, wondering why she'd even agreed to take the half-hour train journey to see Lucy.  
"Because she's been dumped and she's lonely, that's why," she muttered to herself, "God knows, I do too much for that girl."

In her hurry, Liz barely registered that the town centre streets weren't packed with the usual crowd. Quite the opposite – the place was deserted. She frowned at the gaudy neon sign for that new bar that had opened a few days back – not that she paid much attention to such things – before it really hit her. Shouldn't there be at least a few people about?  
She glanced up and down the street, suddenly feeling vulnerable. Lights were on, doors to various bars, clubs and pubs flung open, but not a single person in sight. And something out-of-place was in the middle of the road, not far in front of her. Something very large.  
'Publicity stunt?' Liz thought to herself, and moved towards it to get a better look at the thing. It was a giant egg. A giant half-cracked open egg, with a yellow pus-like slime seeping from it. And to cap it all off, the head of a bird had just broken its way out, feathers plastered down by the thick goo, crying out into the frigid air. It blinked once, looking at Liz, and its calls became more persistant.

Liz stared at it, enraptured, not knowing whether to take a closer look or to run.  
'That thing must be as big as me," she said to herself.  
Then a screech filled the air from behind her. Liz whirled around. Towering above her, as tall as any of the buildings, stood another bird monster. It had a razor-sharp black beak and deep purple feathers that bristled with each step it took with its mammoth clawed feet.  
"Oh," She gasped out, "You must be mummy bird."  
It had brilliant blue eyes that were looking right at her. And it was closing in on her fast.

A hand caught Liz's.  
"Run."

Suddenly, Liz found herself flying down the street, past the neon signs, past the giant egg, gripping the hand of a complete stranger, with the frozen air hitting her lungs hard. The pair ducked around a corner, and Liz suddenly found herself looking into the deep brown eyes of the man who had just saved her life. He grinned at her.  
"She's only defending her child, perfectly natural behaviour," he said cheerfully. He had some sort of device under one arm. Then he ran his free hand through his sticky-up hair, frowning.  
"Torchwood should have this area sealed off," he said, "Can't have been that careful. Still, I needed a hand. Hold this."  
He thrust the device into Liz's hands. It looked like a toaster with a jumble of wires sticking out the top.  
"It's a toaster," She said, rather stupidly.  
"Actually it's a chryogenic stasis device, but let's not split hairs about it. I rather like my hair. Well, a bit messy, but it works."  
Liz realised she was staring at him. He seemed to realise this too, and gave her a sheepish smile.  
"Who are you?" Liz said.  
"Sorry, I'm the Doctor." The man said, "Now do me a favour and press down that lever when I say so. Back in a bit."  
The Doctor extracted what looked like a bend coat hanger from the pocket of his long brown coat, then dashed back around the corner.

Liz heard the mother bird screech again and glanced out into the street. The Doctor had the full attention of the giant bird and was pointing his bent coat hanger at it, slowly backing away at the same time.  
"Now!" He called over his shoulder.  
Liz pressed down the lever, as if she were making toast. Nothing happened.  
The mother bird sprung forward and the Doctor rolled to the ground, barely avoiding the snapping beak. He was up on his feet again in an instant, coat hanger still centred on the mother bird.  
"I said now!" he called to Liz.  
"I pressed it, it's not doing anything!"  
Behind the Doctor, the baby bird had crawled its way out of the egg shell. It looked so thin and fragile, its feathers dripping the thick goo over the pavement. But it was heading straight for the Doctor.  
"Doctor," Liz yelled, "Behind you!"  
The Doctor spun around, but unfortunately the mother bird did the same. It sprinted towards Liz, beak open, wings outstretched and giving off a more terrifying scream than she had ever imagined in her nightmares. She closed her eyes, waiting for it to reach her.

The toaster clicked.

Liz opened her eyes in surprise and watched as a blue beam rose out the top of the toaster, hitting the mother bird full on. It froze, a blue glow surrounding it, as the beam passed through it towards the Doctor. The Doctor redirected the beam with his coat hanger in the direction of the baby bird – and then it was all over. Both monstrous birds were almost comically frozen in place, trapped inside blue shells.  
Liz sank to the floor, the toaster falling from her shaking hands. The Doctor sat down beside her and gave her a disarming grin.  
"Now it's just a little trip to Theta-6 and it's all settled." He kicked the toaster, "Must have forgotten to take out the timer. Ah, well, we live and learn. What's your name?"  
"Liz," She said, "Elizabeth Moore."  
"It was nice to meet you, Elizabeth Moore."  
He got up and started walking away, dusting off his coat. Then he stopped and turned around, thrusting his hands in the pockets of his pinstripe suit. He regarded her solemnly.  
"I'll tell you what, Liz," he said, "Do you fancy a lift?"

_  
A/N: I mainly wrote this to fill in a hole now the series had ended. Hope you enjoyed, and all reviews (especially critisism) very much appreciated. If you like Liz, I may even consider a series (no romance though, and that's an absolute promise!)_


End file.
